Fiji

Last stop on my trip. I started of on the mainland in a lovely hostel (more like a hotel) in Nadi where the food was absolutely lovely and I just sat by the pool for a day.
Then it was off island hopping. First stop was Coral View resort where I was greeted on the island by signing from the locals. In the evening there was entertainment with a traditional Fijian band and songs.
Next stop was Long Beach-it really did have a Long Beach! It was a beautiful beach with white sand and clear blue water. I chilled out under the palm trees in a hammock. I also did some basket weaving and made myself a beach bag and went to visit the local village and the school.
Next island was White Sandy Beach, and that also lived up to it's name! The locals performed traditional dances for us in the evening and we had traditional Fijian food-so lots of fish! The next day I did some snorkeling. It was like swimming in a fish tank and the coral was absolutely beautiful.
Then it was onto Korovu where I got to try my hand at weaving a bracelet and the locals performed fire dances. On sunday morning I went to the local church service-we had to get a boat there!
The next island was Waya Lailai. Here I did another scuba dive and got to swim with reef sharks. There were about 6 of them just swimming along with me on my own personal dive.
My final island stop was on South Sea Island, which was so small you could walk round it in 10 minutes! Here I did some more snorkeling, sea kayaking and even went on a glass bottom boat.
Then it was back to the mainland to top up my tan!

See you all soon, hopefully I will still be brown then!
xxxx

North Island New Zealand

I started my trip round the North island in Wellington after a bit of an interesting ferry crossing! From there it was an all day trip up to Auckland. There wasn't much going on there so I headed off round the North Island.
First stop was Hahei and a trip to the usually stunning Cathedral Cove. However it was a bit wet when I was there, thought I'm sure it's pretty impressive usually! There we went to a hot beach. If you dig a hole in the sand all the hot thermal water rises up to make a hot pool, and it was boiling hot! My bottom half was burning and my top half was freezing in the rain! It was the best thing and the worse thing all rolled into one.
Next stop was Raglan, usually a good place to surf but the waves were a bit big and the water too cold for my liking. Not exactly East Coast Australia!
The following day the weather was lovely, but I spent most of the day in a cave! I went down into a glow worm cave-it was beautiful! The roof of the cave looked like it was covered in stars. That day was pretty busy as after the cave I went to see rabbits, yes rabbits get a haircut! It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen but apparently they'd get too hot if they didn't get their hair cut. After that I threw myself down a massive hill in a giant inflatable ball-it was so much fun, I couldn't stop laughing!
In the evening we had a traditional Maori night with food and entertainment. The guys in the group learnt and performed the Haka and the girls taught us the traditional women's dance. I even got to try the costume for size.
From there it was onto the very smelly Rotorua and the hot mud spas. The mud just bubbles up from hot springs all around the town, but the whole place smells of rotten eggs!
Final stop in the North before I went back to Auckland was Taupo. I had planned to climb a volcano but the snow and the winds were to bad so it was canceled! I just stayed in the hostel and watched what I was missing out on in Lord of The Rings.
My final trip on the Stray bus was up to the Bay of Islands. Again rain stopped play on the first day and I didn't see any dolphins again when we went out round the bay!! I think the dolphins in Australia must have told them I was coming! But the next day was much nicer, so at least I did get to see how beautiful the Bay of Islands really was.
Then it was back to Auckland for a few more days. I was sad to leave New Zealand, but not Auckland!

South Island, New Zealand

Hello everyone,

Just got back from my tour of the South Island of New Zealand and had a really great time.

I started my trip in Christchurch, which is the most English city outside of England! You can go punting on the river Avon! From there I caught the Stray bus to Kaikoura where I finally managed to swim with dolphins. It was worth the wait, I had loads of dolphins just swimming right underneath me and brushing past me. It was pretty cold in the sea though, but well worth it. In Abel Tasman national park I went sea kayaking so we could just sail to our our private beach and look out at incredible views. It was even sunny and warm! Though it wasn't so warm in the evening when I stayed in a tent wearing 7 layers!
From the wine region of the North of the island it was down the deserted West Coast where there isn't much internet or phone reception. We stopped in a place called Barrytown which has a population of 65! We had to make our own fun by dressing up, I dressed up as T for Tiger and made my own tiger fleece out of the fancy dress box. I also did bone carving in Barrytown where I carved my own Maori necklace out of bone.
The next stop was Franz Josef glacier where you can hike up the glacier in crampons, I felt like a real explorer climbing through ice tunnels and crevasses.
After a few more stops in the middle of know where among the beautiful mountain scenery of New Zealand I arrived at Queenstown. Actually before I'd even arrived at Queenstown I threw myself off a 43m bridge, just for fun! It was such a good feeling, it felt like I was flying until I suddenly had the feeling I was falling but before I had time to panic I was bouncing back up again! I'm glad to say I've done a bungy, I never thoughtI would. Queenstown itself was great fun, lots of drinking cocktails out of teapots and eating giant Fergburgers (the biggest and yummiest burgers ever!)
I then went into the deep South. First stop Milford Sound, where I did a cruise out in the fjord. The scenery was amazing, the fjord was surrounded by snow capped mountains down which massive waterfalls thundered. I saw some seals and dolphins but sadly no penguins.
There were a few more stops in the South but there wasn't much happening there, other than being interviewed by a local paper about what I thought about the election! Then it was back to Queenstown for more burgers and tea pots and then back to Christchurch.
Next stop North Island, I will keep you posted!
xxx

Melbourne to Sydney again!

It was the last part of my trip round Australia, I can't believe it's gone so fast!
On the way back to Sydney we stopped at Wilson's Prom national park, the most Southerly point in mainland Australia. There were amazing views out to sea from up there. We visited squeaky beach which is a white sand beach that squeaks under foot.
The next day it was up to the snowy mountains, except there wasn't much snow! It was pretty cold though as we climbed the highest mountain in Australia. The hot tub in the hotel I stayed in was appreciated! And the free locally distilled schnapps!
On the last day of my 3 day trip we called in to Canberra where we had a look round the Parliament. The city itself was a bit dull though!
The it was back to Sydney, hadn't changed much in 2 months. I did all the things I didn't do last time, like the Blue Mountains. That was such a good day trip. The mountains really did look blue in the haze of the sun. We did a lot of hiking that day as well to see waterfalls and look out over the mountains. The highlight was the vertical mountain railway which went at such an angle up the mountain I thought I'd fall out!
On my last day in Oz I went to the botanical gardens and did the harbour bridge etc just to get more photos!
I really enjoyed my trip round Australia! I can't believe it's over! But bring on New Zealand.
xxx

Adelaide to Melbourne

Some of the group who I'd been with from Alice were still on this part of my trip, the rest of the group must have thought we were mad with all the games we were playing! We set off early again, in the cold now as Australia is heading towards winter.
On the way to Melbourne we trekked in the Grampians National Park and scrambled up the rocks. It was great fun, I felt like a mountain goat!
The best part about this bit of the journey was the Great Ocean Road which winds it's way along the coast with some pretty impressive scenery. Here we saw the 12 Apostles, giant limestone stacks that jut out of the ocean with the waves crashing around them. We drove along by the sea for miles. Round every headland was another breathtaking view. We called in to watch the Surfers at Bell's Beach where they'd just had the world championships. We also went on a tree top walk round the canopy of a rain forest which was cool but you couldn't look down! We also did a koala walk and saw lots of koalas but the most exciting thing was the parrots that would just fly down from the trees and land on your head!
Then it was into Meblourne. It's a really cool place with lovely cafes and coffee. I went on the Neighbours tour and saw some of the sets and the school. We tried to go up Ramsey Street but it was closed for filming, which was annoying but cool that we got to see them film a scene with Ringo and Donna, don't worry they are back together by the look of that scene. The fake kissing looked awkward! I went for my dolphin swim ,but my curse meant that there were no dolphins to be seen! But I did swim with seals which was cool, they swam right up to me and played round me.
On Sunday I went to an AFL match. It was crazy, there were loads of guys just running round the pitch and just throwing and kicking the ball anywhere! There didn't seem to be that many rules but it was good fun to watch! In the evening I met up with Tanya who I'd not seen since Trinity of 1st year so it was great to catch up. She's working as a solicitor in Melbourne now and she took me out for a yummy dinner and then to the last night of Melbourne Comedy Festival. It was pretty funny, saw an Ozzie guy called Dave Thornton.
I moved hostels to stay in St Kilda just outside Melbourne for a few nights down by the beach. There are loads of bakeries there and I had a yummy cupcake! In the evening I went to the Neighbours trivia night and met Dr Karl! Yay! It was a great night, we came 2nd in the quiz not bad! Dr Karl's band performed and so did Paul Robinson and I met Stingray and Donna as well. I'm so cool!

Alice Springs to Adelaide

I left the East Coast behind and flew to the very hot and dry outback. It was a 5am start to head into the outback. We drove for about 10 hours before we reached our first stop at Kings Canyon. We went for a hike in the midday sun, not the best idea! It was so hot and the flies were everywhere! But the impressive view looking out over the Canyon made up for that!
Our first stop for the night was at a camp sight not far from Uluru. I was expecting tents and not much else but it was really nice with showers, a fully functional kitchen and the tents had beds in! I went for the real outback experience though and slept in a swag under the stars!
We had to be up early again to watch the sunrise over Uluru. It's a really weird experience. You cram into a car park with thousands of other tourists and it's all noisy but then the sun comes up and suddenly everything and everyone goes quiet. Everyone is just staring at the massive red rock appearing on the horizon. I know it's just a rock, but there really is something impressive and magical about it that you can't help but stare with your mouth open!! You can still walk up it but I decided I didn't want to. It felt really disrespectful as the Aborigines don't like it plus it's a pretty steep climb! So i walked round it, which meant pictures of the rock, not just the view of nothingness from the top. I took far to many photos! In the evening we watched the sun set with some sparkling wine-heaven! Then we had a BBQ and camp fire with marshmallows before sleeping under the stars again!

The next day I was up at 4am!!! We drove 12 hours to Cober Pedy where they have opal mines. We went on a mine tour and even slept in caves carved into the rock! I even got to hold a joey and he gave me a kiss. If you blow on a kangaroo's nose, if they want to be your friend they will lick you and they have ears in their feet, just so you know!

Thursday was a driving day to Flinders Ranges national park. Drove through the nothingness of the outback. We had a really fun tour guide called Benchy (all drivers have silly names!) who got involved in the games as much as we did. We went to a salt lake which is just crystallised salt no water, it's like walking on the top of a Christmas cake! In the evening we went on a hike up to the Dutchman's Stern and saw loads of kangaroos.

On the last day I went on a camel ride through the outback. My camel was called moon and she was lovely, no spitting!

Then it was back to civilisation and Adelaide. It was really sad to leave the group behind. I was supposed to do my dolphin swim but it got cancelled. So I did some museums and art galleries and the Botanic gardens instead.

Next stop Melbourne!

East Coast

Hi,

The first stop on my Oz Experience was Surf Camp. The place was very surfer dude! There were hammocks and a fire pit and we all went down to the beach and sat under the stars-amazing. In the morning we had a surf lesson. I really really enjoyed it. My surf instructor was really impressed with me. I caught a few waves, it felt so cool to be a surfer chick. There may be some photos on line at mojosurfaustralia.com.

Then it was on to Byron Bay. The hostel is amazing! We had our own apartment with our own kitchen, much nicer than Sydney. On the first evening we all went out to a club called Cheeky Monkeys. There was dancing on tables and I won a $450 scuba lesson for winning the scavenger challenge, don't ask how because I only ended up doing it buy mistake! So I'm glad to say I'm now a certified scuba diver. I spent 2 days in the class room and the pool learning how to dive and then 2 days out at sea actually doing some real diving. I swam with tropical fish, leopard sharks and massive rays that glide over your head. My final dive looked like it wouldn't go ahead as there was a Tsunami warning. But it didn't come to anything so I managed to get my qualification so now I can dive anywhere in the world.

I then headed to Surfer's Paradise but because of the Tsunami the weather was hardly paradise! Had a few good nights out though, even if I didn't get to see the beach. I'm not sure I was missing that much because there are so many skyscrapers there that the beach is in the shade in the afternoon.

From there it was onto Brisbane for one night. It's a pretty cool place with museums and bars. It was a very whistle stop tour though! I wish the weather was better as I couldn't go to the beach in the middle of the city.

Racing up, the next stop was Noosa. I staying in an amazing little hotel and was glad to have a double bed rather than a single bunk like in all the hostels. From here I went to Australia Zoo where I fed kangaroos and elephants and even held a koala. They are so cute and fluffy but a little bit smelly! I watched the croc feeding and the croc display. They are pretty big and scary, I wouldn't want to run into one in the wild! I've seen a few kangaroos just hopping on the side of the road though which is pretty cool.

The next main stop was Fraser Island, the worlds largest sand island. Despite the rubbish weather, we managed to have 3 days of sunshine! I was in a 4x4 of 8 people (though we were in a convoy of 4 cars, so it was a big party) and you drive round the island in the sand tracks and the beach. I didn't think I wanted to drive, but I'm glad I did as it was so cool just to cruise along the beach in the sunshine! We drove to Lake Mckenzie which is a beautiful blue lagoon surrounded by white sand (see FB picture!) , Elly Creak which is like one of those lazy river creaks you get at water parks, only real and Lake Wabby which is another beautiful lake surrounded by sand dunes. There were loads of dingos lurking around or camp sites (yes I went camping!) which are wild dogs and someone from my group did get bitten but fortunately they didn't like the look of me.

From there we stopped at a cattle station where I learnt to crack a whip (yes I didn't know how to do it before!!) and lasso a goat and I stayed on the bucking bronco for an impressive 28 bucks! I spent the night sleeping in a stable. I ate loads of steak which makes a change from pasta and sauce and even tried a little bit of kangaroo testicle!! It tastes like kidney if your wondering, steak and kangaroo testicle anyone?

From there is was Airlie Beach for the sail to the Whitsundays. I was on a boat called wings and it was a catamaran, which was good as the sea was choppy as a cyclone was on it's way! We sailed round the islands and I did 2 more scuba dives of the barrier reef. I didn't see nemo but I saw plenty of colourful fish and coral. You just have to look up to see thousands of fish swimming above your head. One little fish even tried to take a bite out of me. I swam through caves in the coral and saw giant bat fish and beautiful angel fish. We stopped off at Whitehaven Beach with it's amazing white sands and blue water, the best beach I've seen by miles! We maneged to see it in the sun, because as soon as we left the heavens opened! We spent the evenings on the boat having yummy BBQ's and drinking under the stars, which were so clear as there were no lights in the middle of the sea. I slept in a little cabin, but didn't get sea sick gladly! I'm very lucky I got to sail at all though because the cyclone did hit and a lot of people had their boats cancelled.

Just been to Magnetic Island which was really chilled out and the hostel I stayed in was more like a holiday resort, but sadly someone stole all my food so it definitely was a hostel!!. On a walk round the island I saw a wild Koala! I was the one who found it, because I recognised the smell that I smelt of all day after I'd held a koala!

I'm at the final stop on the East Coast now, Cairns which is a bit of a party town. I've had a few good nights out, including a night on a party bus round the bars here. I did another scuba dive off the Great Barrier Reef. I found Nemo! The coral off the reef was beautiful, so colourful. The boat took us to two tiny sand islands in the middle of the reef. They were just two tiny mounds of sand surrounded by clear blue sea. Lying on them felt like paradise, miles away from everything. I then snorkeled back from the islands where I saw more Nemos, giant clams which are ticklish, and a shark just chilling out under a rock with a massive ray! The visibility was amazing in the crystal clear water, it really was paradise. I also went on a day trip to Cape Tribulation. I went on a river cruise where I saw crocs (don't worry, they were only small!) I also did a walk through the rain forest and looked out over the breathtaking Cape Tribulation. I've got photos, but it doesn't do it justice.

I'm off to the Centre on Saturday. I'm looking forward to watching the sun rise over Uluru.

Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sydney

I made it to Sydney, we flew in over the harbour which was amazing! Had a nightmare at the airport when my coach didn't arrive for an hour and half after I landed and then took an hour to get me to my hostel! The first hostel was errm interesting. I thought a bomb had hit my room, there was stuff everywhere! There were girls there who were living in the hostel so they'd spread out a bit!

So I didn't spend much time in the hostel. But I went to the harbour and saw the Bridge and the Opera House. It was amazing to have finally made it to Australia! I went back there in the evening too and watched the sun set and the bats fly over the harbour, it was amazing.

On Saturday I spent the morning at the market in Paddington which was really cool, just a shame I couldn't buy anything. In the afternoon I headed to Bondi beach. I felt so pale compared to all the beautiful people on the beach! It's so hot here and I burnt my feet :(

On Sunday I got the ferry across the harbour, which was an amazing view, to Manly beach. Managed to venture into the sun for a bit!

Tokyo and Nara

Not had chance to update for a while but before I tell you about Oz, just a few more Japanese adventures.

I caught the bullet train to Tokyo, it was amazing and got me there in 3 hours. I didn't have long in Tokyo but it was so hectic I needed a rest after! The first place I went to was Harajuku where all the cool kids hang out..and me! There were really cool shops but I didn't see any real Harajuku girls! I then went to the Meiji shrine. It's set in a huge park, I couldn't believe I was in the middle of Tokyo! I then headed up the Government tower to get a view of the city which was cool but I couldn't see Mt Fuji, it was too cloudy! I then had a wander round the designer shops in Ginza, one day I will be able to shop in them!! I was pretty tired after my day in Tokyo!

The next day was a bit more chilled as I went to Nara park. It was my favourite place in Japan. It's a massive park with shrines and temples everywhere you look and deer that just wander round everywhere! The temple houses a huge statue of Buddha-the photos just don't do it justice! I was in awe! The whole place is really pretty, like old style Japan. I think I preferred it to Kyoto, but then the weather was much better!

My final day in Japan soon came around. I went back to Tokyo and this time I did the fish market, which was cool, but smelly! And I went to the Sony building and tried out their 3D TV's. I then had to catch my flight which all went ok. I saw Taylor Swift at the airport-she was wearing massive high heels, not v good for travelling!

Kyoto

I'm feeling pretty pleased that I got myself to and from Kyoto on my own! Yes I read a map and even used my compass successfully! Admittedly I did go round in a few circles but I got there in the end!!

Kyoto was amazing, apart from the rain. I got a bullet train there, so fast! In amongst the modern city there are parts which are untouched and traditional. I visited the largest temple made of wood, and it's pretty big and impressive as it's stood for such a long time! Then I went to a shrine full of hundreds of statues of Buddha, each has a slightly different face! The main Buddha was huge! Although sadly couldn't take any pictures so you will have to take my word that it was impressive! I went round Gion, the Geisha district, but sadly I didn't catch a glimpse of any. There was so much to see so I'm pretty tired now!

Had a nightmare bus ride back from the station as my Romanian 'friend' from followed me back all the way, he just won't get the hint. It was pretty scary, but I'm safe now don't worry!

It I can survive that, I'm sure I will be fine in Tokyo tomorrow!
xxx

Karaoke

So I've had a pretty busy couple of days. Friday morning we went to Minoh national park to see the waterfall and managed to see some monkeys (throwing rocks!) and in the afternoon Seb's tutor gave us a tour road Osaka to see a couple of shrines etc. I tried some real Japanese sushi in a sushi bar for dinner. It was erm...interesting!

Friday night was karaoke night!! It began with a bit of a pre-lash in the dorm where I was hit on by this creepy Bulgarian guy-not cool! So I was glad to escape to karaoke!! It was so much fun! We spent a good four hours just singing, drinking and eating chips! Nearly lost Seb at the end of the night as for reasons unknown he left the karaoke all alone and went to McDonald's, thinking we were all there. When we rang him to see where he was he had no idea. He eventually returned and we eventually got back at 5am.

So that Saturday wasn't entirely wasted we decided to walk up to a temple in the hills above Osaka. Bad idea! The road was steep and winding and there were huge lorries coming down! When we finally reached the top, we didn't have enough money to get in so it could have been a wasted trip, but the guy felt sorry for us silly Western tourists and let us in!! I'm glad he did, it was a really amazing Buddhist temple set in the mountains and was really peaceful. There were Doruma (little red men) everywhere. They are good luck charms that people leave to bring them good luck.

On Sunday we went to Kobe for Chinese New Year. It was absolutely packed with people so we couldn't really see the Lion dance though but a good atmosphere.

I'm off to Kyoto on my own tomorrow, wish me luck!!
xxx

Japan

I've arrived in Japan! Pretty much spent yesterday sleeping off the 24 hour travelling of the day before. But today finally got to see some of Japan.

Seb and I went into Osaka today. Went to see Osaka Castle and it's grounds which was pretty cool from the outside but the inside was a little disappointing and all in Japanese so I didn't really get what was going on. The English explanations of the displays in the museum wasn't that great, everything seemed to be 'according to legend!' so who knows if it was true! But managed to get a glimpse of some cherry blossom in the gardens.

I've been trying to sample local cuisine so lunch was noddle curry, which was yummy but quite hard to eat with chopsticks, all my practice in noodle bar has not paid off!

We then wandered round the shops in Osaka, my favourite being the Hello Kitty store! It's pretty manic in Osaka, I though Oxford on a Saturday was full of people! But it was absolutely pouring with rain so everyone had dived into the shops. Seems like I've brought the bad English weather with me!

Went for dinner in this really cool place where all your food is served onto a hot plate in the middle of the table so keeps it nice and warm! Noodles for me again, though I'm getting better with the chopsticks!

So that was my first day, I'm pretty shattered know though! More Osaka tomorrow I think.

Love xxx